Page 88 of Tendu: Dancing in the Castle

“My, he’s all brooding and smouldery, isn’t he?” whispered Yvonne in my ear. “The sex must be amazing.”

My mouth dropped open.

“Write and tell me everything,” she called back as they took their leave.

With barely time to put my jaw back in place, my parents insisted I see them off. “We’ve hardly seen you,” said my mother. “And you not coming home for Christmas. It’s just awful. What will people think?”

“That I’m working really hard? Totally devoted to ballet?”

She looked, rightfully for once, highly sceptical. “It’s terribly anti-social, even that Justin is going home.”

My father muttered some parting disapproval about the outside of the castle having been harled with small stones and painted pink, and then they left.

I waved them off in their taxi and stood motionless on the drive, a quiet pause in a mad morning. The nearby trees rustled as if in invitation. A large bus rolled across the gravel and slowed to noisy stop in front of the castle.

“I’ve never seen a pair of jeans look that enticing.” Colin Mcken grinned at my side. “I’m lengthening just looking at you.”

I stared. Did he mean what I thought he meant?

“My taxi’s here,” he said. “Let’s find a hotel, and get to know each other properly. You’ll be my favourite little dancer before the new term even begins.”

I backed away three steps and then turned and ran into the castle, hoping I had somehow misconstrued the unfortunate speech.

Chapter 28

“Thebusforthestation and airport is here!” Holly hollered in careful English as I entered the foyer.

Justin stopped for a hug on his way to the bus.

“Zolotov all right this morning?” he asked as he returned my phone to me.

“More or less,” I said.

“Of course, you didn’t see it. Michelle played a film of him falling on stage at the start of his arthritis, then footage from when she first worked with him. Did you know it used to take him an hour just to stand upright in the morning? Quite a thing to have everyone see. And they were all speaking about it last night. In front of him too, Phi. He pokerfaced his way through it, but it must have stung a bit.”

“Ah.” I had to find him. And talk to him. I had misinterpreted the ‘options’ thing very badly.

“Anyway, have a sexy Christmas, darling!” And Justin was gone.

I took two steps towards the great hall, and then my way across the foyer was barred. A brightly smiling Michelle was suddenly very close and in my face, holding up her sparkly red phone for me to see. “Can I show you this, Amalphia? Just quickly before we all leave? You missed it last night.” I saw Aleks on the phone screen. A thinner, sort of grey-looking Aleks.

“I don’t have time,” I told her. It was true. I had to find present-day Aleks.

“No problem,” she said, still smiling. “I’ll email it to you.”

And, after inflicting a perfumey hug on me, she headed over to Holly to ask if her taxi had arrived.

I set off in the direction of the great hall again, but Will shoved past me looking all dishevelled and hungover and cross.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

He grunted something and continued walking.

“You off home, or going to Sadie’s?” I asked, hoping for a goodbye at least.

He spun round. “What the fuck would I be going to Sadie’s for?”

For the second time that morning, I just stared at a man, silenced by both his face and words. Will actually looked like he was trembling with rage.

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